George Richards, FHN Publisher
A month ago, Florida Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said goalie Sergei Bobrovsky had his mind “in a good place” as news raged on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Bobrovsky, from the Siberian town of Novokuznetsk, has battled through some things over the past few weeks from getting hit in the face with an errant puck to not looking his best in games that his Florida teammates helped pull through.
On Thursday night, however, Bobrovsky gave the Panthers one of his best performances of the year as he made 37 saves and picked up his third shutout of the season in a 4-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at FLA Live Arena.
”It was a good game, lots of shots and we played a great team game in all zones,” Bobrovsky said.
Speaking to the South Florida media for the first time since the Russian invasion began, Bobrovsky said his sole focus is on the ice.
“I’m focusing on the game,” Bobrovsky said after the win. “We had a good performance tonight and I was preparing. It’s a lot about the team. We have a lot of big hockey coming up and I am focusing on that.”
Bobrovsky spoke more in depth about his team and his battle to get back on the ice following the incident while sitting on the bench in Los Angeles.
Spencer Knight started against the Kings on March 13 — the first game of a four-game west coast trip — when a clearing shot from the Kings was blocked and flew up into the Florida bench where Bobrovsky was sitting.
Bobrovsky reacted to the puck at the last second and it appeared to clip the side of the glove he was wearing but it still came up and struck him in the face.
He quickly left the bench to get treatment and received over a dozen stitches in the spot above his upper lip and beneath his nose.
Bobrovsky was back on the bench for the second period with a bag of ice on his mouth.
The Panthers were hoping their goalie would be back for their next game, but Knight continued to start. Brunette said Bobrovsky was fighting an illness, but on Thursday he went into detail about the injury and how that ended up keeping him out of the lineup for the entirety of the trip.
Although Bobrovsky practiced and warmed up, Knight ended up playing in all four games — including a back-to-back set in Las Vegas and Anaheim — as Bobrovsky healed up.
Knight ended up going 2-1-1 out west.
”It was one of those things,” Bobrovsky said. “I had inflammation on the inside so I really track the puck. It was real swollen. At the beginning, I was like ‘no big deal,’ but then I started practicing and I started having problems breathing too. But it’s past. It was one of those things you can’t do anything about.”
And, it turns out, could have been much more damaging.
”It was a lucky shot,” Bobrovsky said. “If it was an inch higher or lower, it could have been a lot worse. We move on. Spencer stepped up and played great hockey for our team. We played great hockey, but it’s great to be back.”
Knight got his first shutout against Anaheim in the finale of the trip thereby earning a start the next time out in Montreal.
Bobrovsky did not return to the Florida net until March 26 in Ottawa — more than two weeks since his previous start.
In that game against the Sens, Bobrovsky showed obvious rust as he gave up the first three goals of the game but ended up leading the Panthers to a 4-3 shootout win.
His next start came Tuesday against Montreal in Sunrise and he gave up three goals on three shots to close the second period.
The Canadiens, down 4-1 in the second, went into the third all tied up. Bobrovsky did not give anything else up in that game as the Panthers won 7-4.
Thursday, however, Bobrovsky was strong from the start and made a number of spectacular saves to keep Chicago off the board.
“He was locked in from the start,” Andrew Brunette said. “We knew they are a team with a lot of pride and this was a big night for them. We knew they going to come out hard and try to win one for (Jonathan) Toews. Bob was outstanding, kept us in the game at different parts and we did enough to win.”
While the Panthers were struggling at times to get some breathing room against a pesky Blackhawks team, Bobrovsky was solid throughout.
“He gives us a chance to win every night and it wasn’t any different today,’’ Sasha Barkov said. “He has always been unbelievable for us. We trust him. We are real lucky to have him.”
For Bobrovsky, the shutout was his third of the season and second in March after shutting down the Senators on March 3 in Sunrise.
His three shutouts are triple what he recorded in his first two seasons with the Panthers. After getting a shutout against Detroit on Nov. 2, 2019.
Bobrovsky did not get his next one until he beat the host Edmonton Oilers in January.
”I like to be out there, I like to play hockey and be with the guys,” said Bobrovsky, who went 7-0 in March with a 2.48/.924. His seven consecutive wins is second only to nine in franchise history from Roberto Luongo during the 2015-16 season.
Florida is counting on Bobrovsky to carry the load for the team when the playoffs roll around next month and now is the time he will use to prepare for that.
It is a situation neither he or the Panthers are used to. They simply are not scratching and clawing for every point to simply make the playoffs. They’re trying to prepare for them.
During his time in Columbus, Bobrovsky started every night because the Blue Jackets needed him to.
If he didn’t win, they probably did not, either.
Bobrovsky’s strong finishes to the regular season helped lift Columbus into the postseason.
But, all that wear-and-tear probably was not good on him going into the playoffs.
“I don’t think about the statistics or what happened in the past,” Bobrovsky said. “My focus is on right here, right now. One shot at a time. It was a great game and I’ll enjoy it tonight, but I’m going to get ready for practice tomorrow. I don’t really look at the past or too far ahead. I look at ‘What can I do to improve myself, improve my game and help my team win the games’?’’
With 15 games left, Bobrovsky has played in 44 and will probably get 10 more starts before the playoffs.
That’s a nice workload for a workhorse like Bobrovsky. He played in 62 games his last season with the Jackets and 65 the season before that.
The Panthers want him fresh for the postseason — but not rusty. They want him in a groove and not fighting the puck as he appeared to be in his first games back from his long (for him) stint on the bench.
Thursday night was good not only for the player, but for his team as well.
Bobrovsky has been exceptional at times but not always his sharpest over those past two starts. It is completely understandable and reasonable.
Thursday night, though, he was Big Game Bob.
That’s the Bobrovsky the Panthers are counting on moving forward.
“It’s encouraging,” Brunette said. “He was dialed in tonight and I think, for him, he felt good in the building. He missed a little time and some of those games were a little wonky. He didn’t have a lot of action. Tonight he had action and he was ready for the challenge.”